Method of blocking transmission of screen information of mobile communication terminal while performing remote control using icon

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a technique for allowing a user of the mobile communication terminal to block transmission of screen information to a remotely connected computer through a simple handling of a toggle icon, without having to input a command or activate a program associated with the icon during a remote control session. As a result, the user&#39;s personal information is protected while at the same time allowing the remote computer and the mobile communication terminal to communicate data effectively.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Korean Application No.10-2011-0092273, filed Sep. 10, 2011 and is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. application Ser. No. 13/358,069 filed Jan. 25, 2012. The entirecontent of the aforementioned patent applications is incorporated hereinby this reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method (and system) of blockingtransmission of screen information. More specifically, the presentinvention blocks transmission of screen information via simply handlinga toggle icon, without the need of handling the mobile communicationterminal such as inputting a command or using a menu in an activatedwindow.

2. Related Art

With the advancement in the mobile communication technologies,communication methods limited to voice communication or short messageservices (SMS) have evolved into Internet access accomplished through amobile communication networks based on a communication protocol such asWAP (Wireless Application Protocol) or the like. As high functionalitymobile communication terminals including input/output devices such as ahigh resolution touch screen and the like, as well as large-capacitycontrol operating units and memory devices, are now being distributedtogether with rapid increases in data processing rates through mobilecommunication networks, Internet access based on TCP/IP (TransportControl Protocol/Internet Protocol) has begun being enabled through awireless LAN (Local Area Network).

Referring to FIG. 2, since the high functionality mobile communicationterminal, which is generally referred to as a smart phone, employs ahigh resolution touch screen and a control operating unit relatedthereto, the high functionality mobile communication terminal 10implements a graphic user interface (GUI) comparable to those of generaldesktop computers 41, as well as to a conventional keypad type terminalhandling environment. However, unlike previous environments in whichmobile communication services are limited to transmitting and receivingvoice communications and SMS texts, patterns of using the mobilecommunication terminal 10 has become more complex since they have begunto i.) connect to the Internet through a wireless network 20 including amobile communication network 21 and a wireless LAN 22, ii.) transmit andreceive large-scaled data and application programs, and iii.) executevarious application programs using a large-capacity control operatingunit and memory devices. Accordingly, most general users unfamiliar withthe new communication environments have difficulties using highfunctionality mobile communication terminals 10 and suffer frommalfunctions and data loss brought on by handling mistakes and excessivecommunication fees.

Therefore, communication companies attracting users of the highfunctionality mobile communication terminals 10 as subscribers, mobilecommunication terminal 10 manufacturers, wireless network 20 provides,or the like guide users who are often inexperienced in using the highfunctionality mobile communication terminals 10 to connect to theInternet or transmit and receive data, and remotely control the mobilecommunication terminals 10 to deal with operation errors and failures ofthe mobile communication terminals 10 from a remote site. This processis conducted by remotely controlling the mobile communication terminals10 provided the user consents.

In these instances, the mobile communication terminals 10 are remotelycontrolled through a wireless network 20 such as a mobile communicationnetwork 21 or a wireless LAN 22. The remote control is generallyperformed at the very moment when a consulting representative of thecommunication companies, the mobile communication terminal 10manufacturers, or the information providers makes a voicecommunication/verification with a user of the mobile communicationterminal 10. This is based upon the premise that a remote controlprogram is installed in the corresponding mobile communication terminal10 and the control subject computer 41 in order to controlcommunications between a corresponding mobile communication terminal 10and a control subject computer, i.e., the computer 41 of the consultingrepresentative. This allows for control input and output of the mobilecommunication terminal 10 at a remote site. As shown in FIG. 1, when theremote control program is executed, the screen of the mobilecommunication terminal 10 is displayed on the screen of the controlsubject computer 41.

If the remote control programs of the mobile communication terminal 10and the control subject computer 41 at a remote site are executed and acommunication session is established between the mobile communicationterminal 10 and the computer 41, a screen correlating to the screen ofthe mobile communication terminal 10 is displayed on the control subjectcomputer 41 as shown in FIG. 1, and commands inputted by the consultingrepresentative, i.e., a user of the control subject computer 41, aretransmitted to the remote control program of the mobile communicationterminal 10 through the communication session and inputted into themobile communication terminal 10 by the remote control program.Therefore, the representative can directly control and view the controltarget mobile communication terminal 10 to more effectively fix errorsor failures in the mobile communication terminal.

As described above, a representative remotely controls the mobilecommunication terminal 10 of a user unfamiliar with the communicationenvironment based on the high functionality mobile communicationterminal 10, and thus, providing the user with a convenient way to fixissues that arise on their terminal. However, there are serious issuesrelated to privacy of personal information on mobile communicationterminal 10 since the screen of the mobile communication terminal 10 isdisplayed on the screen of the control subject computer 41, thus, anyinformation that is on the screen when the representative connects canbe seen by the representative.

Often times, errors occur while the user is trying to connect or log onto often information sensitive websites For example, log-in informationor authentication information needed to connect to a specific site onthe Internet may be required in the course performing these remotecontrol sessions, such as online banking websites, credit card accountwebsites, etc. In particular, a variety of services using the highfunctionality mobile communication terminals 10 are provided even in thefinance, administration and health sectors where serious personalinformation exposure is a concern. Therefore, there is a serious concernthat personal information could be leaked if a remote access session ispermitted on a particular mobile communication terminal

In the remote control environment between the mobile communicationterminal 10 and the computer 41, personal information such as a passwordmay need to be inputted by the user to allow the representative toaccess certain functionalities of the mobile communication terminal 10.In this case, the user of the mobile communication terminal 10 directlyinputs personal information (e.g., a password), and the input type ofthe personal information input window on the screen of the mobilecommunication terminal 10 is set to a password type so that substituteletters such as asterisks or the like may be displayed as shown inFIG. 1. Thus, the representative cannot directly see the inputtedpersonal information.

If the input type is set to, e.g., a password type and thus substituteletters are outputted, it is effective to hide input values which areinputted through a keyboard or a key pad. However, in the case of mobilecommunication terminals 10 since the keyboard or keypad is displayed onthe screen the input itself is displayed to the representative or remoteuser. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, asterisks are displayed instead ofreal input values in the password input window of the screen. However,when a virtual keyboard implemented at the lower portion of the touchscreen is used to input the password, the color, brightness, or shape ofa touched key is temporarily changed when a user presses a particularkey thus indicating which keys have been pressed by the user at themobile communication terminal 10. Thus, allowing the remoteuser/representative to see sequence of keys that were selected by themobile communication terminal user.

One solution to this problem is to block transmission of screeninformation on the mobile communication terminal 10 by inputting aspecific command by the user, or by turning on a particular setting thatblocks the transmission of screen information by sequentially selectingmenu items in an activated window 12 displayed on the screen of themobile communication terminal 10. However, in the method describedabove, the user himself or herself performs complex handling proceduresto block transmission of screen information, and thus departs from themain object of the remote control service provided to typically to userswho are unfamiliar with using a mobile communication terminal 10.Furthermore, this solution may cause mishandling of other settings andtakes a long time to execute on the mobile communication terminal 10.

Particularly, the object of a remote control service provided throughcomputer 41 communications is not only for a simple one-time controlproxy service, but also is for providing a learning service so that auser unfamiliar with using an information device may correctly performthe same handling procedures in the future. Therefore, it is preferableto provide all the same procedures and screen output forms used in theremote control when the user independently performs similar controls inthe future, and thus implementing a separate icon in the activatedwindow 12 and inducing a general user to handle the icon may causeconfusion.

SUMMARY

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the aboveproblems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide asystem and method of blocking transmission of screen information withminimal control procedures while performing remote control between acomputer and a mobile communication terminal, in which a user of themobile communication terminal does not need to input a command, or anicon does not need to be separately implemented in an activated windowon the screen of the mobile communication terminal.

That is, the present invention provides a method of blockingtransmission of a screen of a mobile communication terminal whileperforming remote control, in which a computer connected to an Internetand a wireless network remotely controls the mobile communicationterminal, i.e., a mobile station of a mobile communication network,employing a touch screen as an input/output means. More specifically,the method includes executing a remote control program installed in themobile communication terminal; displaying a toggle icon, by the remotecontrol program, on a screen of the mobile communication terminal;stopping transmission of screen information to the computer, by theremote control program, when a first touch of the toggle icon is sensed;and resuming transmission of screen information to the computer, by theremote control program, when a second touch of the toggle icon is sensedagain.

According to the present invention, transmission of screen informationis blocked with only simple controls while performing remote controlbetween the computer and the mobile communication terminal, and thus itis possible to effectively prevent leakage of personal information thatmay occur while the mobile communication terminal is remotelycontrolled. Particularly, since input of a command for blockingtransmission of screen information and complicated menu handling areomitted, user mistakes may be prevented, and user convenience may bemaximized. Thus, the learning effect of the user in handling the mobilecommunication terminal 10 may be enhanced through remote control.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present invention will now bedescribed in detail with reference to certain exemplary embodimentsthereof illustrated the accompanying drawings which are givenhereinbelow by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative ofthe present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view showing a remote control method for a mobilecommunication terminal according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a connection state between a computer and amobile communication terminal while a remote control is performed.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state of screen transmission while a mobilecommunication terminal is remotely controlled through an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing states of a screen in the process of blockingand resuming transmission of the screen while a mobile communicationterminal is remotely controlled through an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a method of handling a mobile communicationterminal applying an expandable toggle icon, through an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The detailed configuration and process of the invention will behereafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items.

First, FIG. 2 is a view showing the connectional relationship among theconstitutional components performing and executing the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the presentinvention is performed using a mobile communication terminal 10, i.e., amobile station of a mobile communication network 21, a wireless network20 such as the mobile communication network 21 or a wireless local areanetwork (LAN) 22, and a computer 41 connected to the Internet. Here, thewireless network 20 generally refers to the mobile communication network21 based on TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) or CDMA (Code DivisionMultiple Access) or the wireless LAN 22 based on Wi-Fi(Wireless-Fidelity) or WiBro (Wireless Broadband) which performscommunications based on TCP/IP (Transport Control Protocol/InternetProtocol).

The wireless LAN 22 and the mobile communication network 21 constructingthe wireless network 20 of the exemplary embodiment are respectivelyconnected to the Internet through a gateway server 31 and acommunication company's server 32, which can be referred to as a kind ofgateway server 31. In addition, the computer 41 which remotely controlsthe mobile communication terminal 10 in the exemplary embodiment is alsoconnected to the Internet.

In performing remote control through the present invention, a remotecontrol program may be installed on the computer 41 and the mobilecommunication terminal 10. The remote control program may performcommunication between the mobile communication terminal 10, which may bea control object, and the computer 41, which may be a control subject.This remote control program controls the mobile communication terminal10 according to a control command of the computer 41, and transmitsscreen information of the mobile communication terminal 10 to thecomputer 41.

Furthermore, although the remote control programs respectively installedon the control target mobile communication terminal 10 and the controlsubject computer 41 communicate provide remote control services, theremote control programs installed on each do not need to be the sameprogram since their operating environments and specific works aredifferent from each other.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the process of performing the present inventionthrough the constitutional components shown in FIG. 2, and specificsteps of performing the present invention are described below. First,the exemplary embodiment starts by executing the remote control programof the mobile communication terminal 10. The remote control program isan application program mounted on the mobile communication terminal 10,which transmits screen information of the mobile communication terminal10, i.e., a control target, to the control subject computer 41 at aremote site through the wireless network 20 and the Internet and inputsa command transmitted from the control subject computer 41 into theoperating system of the mobile communication terminal 10.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the remote control program displays a toggleicon 11 on a screen of the mobile communication terminal 10. Here, thetoggle icon 11 does not involve execution of a specific applicationprogram unlike the other icons displayed on the screen of the mobilecommunication terminal 10. The toggle icon 11 is connected to the remotecontrol program being executed and enables and disables transmission ofscreen information to the control subject computer 41.

After the toggle icon 11 is displayed on the screen of the mobilecommunication terminal 10, the remote control program normally performsa certain remote control process. Once a touch of the toggle icon 11 issensed while performing the remote control, the remote control programstops transmission of screen information to the computer 41. At thispoint, stopping transmission of screen information does not mean thatthe data transmitted and received between the mobile communicationterminal 10 and the computer 41 through a communication session areentirely blocked, but rather means that transmission of screen outputimages is blocked. Accordingly, a user of the control subject computer41 such as a consulting representative is not able to visually see thescreen of the control target mobile communication terminal 10, while atthe same time the transmission and reception of the data may becommunicated normally between the mobile communication terminal 10 andthe computer 41.

While the transmission of screen information is stopped, the screen ofthe control subject computer 41 is blind processed to display asubstitute image as shown in FIG. 4 or continues to output a screendisplayed just before the transmission of screen information is stopped,and thus the user of the control subject computer 41 such as aconsulting representative cannot see the screen of the mobilecommunication terminal 10 during this time period. As described above,while transmission of screen information is blocked through the touch ofthe toggle icon 11, the user may safely input personal information suchas log-in information or the like.

Meanwhile, FIG. 5 is a view showing a state of inputting personalinformation while a mobile communication terminal 10 is remotelycontrolled, through an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 5, once the toggle icon 11 is touched immediately beforethe personal information is inputted, a user of the control subjectcomputer 41 may not see the input screen. In addition, after input ofthe personal information is completed, it needs to allow the user of thecontrol subject computer 41 to see the screen of the mobilecommunication terminal 10 by releasing the state of blockingtransmission of screen information. This is also performed through thetouch of the toggle icon 11, and as shown in FIG. 5, the shape of thetoggle icon 11 is changed depending on the blocking state of the screenof the mobile communication terminal 10 so that the user may recognizewhether or not the screen information is transmitted.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an embodiment of the present inventionapplying an expandable toggle icon 11. The entire steps of blocking andresuming transmission of screen information are sequentially arranged,and the steps are performed while a user of the mobile communicationterminal 10 accepts remote control and the mobile communication terminal10 is remotely controlled. In FIG. 6, once the user of the mobilecommunication terminal 10 accepts remote control of the remote controlsubject computer 41 by touching an icon in the activated windowconnected to the remote control program, the toggle icon 11 is displayedon the screen of the mobile communication terminal 10. If the usertouches and expands the toggle icon 11, messages inquiring whether ornot to block transmission of screen information are displayed, andtransmission of screen information of the mobile communication terminal10 is blocked as a corresponding message is touched.

As shown in FIG. 6, for example, brightness of the screen of the mobilecommunication terminal 10 may be adjusted while transmission of screeninformation is blocked so that the user may recognize blocking oftransmission of screen information, and transmission of screeninformation is resumed in the same manner as blocking transmission ofscreen information, and thus convenience of the user may be maximized.

Furthermore, the control logic of the present invention may be embodiedas non-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable mediumcontaining executable program instructions executed by a processor,controller or the like. Examples of the computer readable mediumsinclude, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD)-ROMs,magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards and optical datastorage devices. The computer readable recording medium can also bedistributed in network coupled computer systems so that the computerreadable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

As described above, while performing remote control, transmission ofscreen information is effectively controlled by simply handling thetoggle icon 11, and thus it is possible to effectively prevent leakageof personal information that may occur while the mobile communicationterminal 10 is remotely controlled.

While the present invention has been described with reference to theparticular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by theembodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciatedthat those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodimentswithout departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

1. A method of blocking transmission of a screen of a mobilecommunication terminal while performing remote control, in which acomputer connected remotely controls the mobile communication terminalemploying a touch screen as an input/output means, the methodcomprising: executing a remote control program installed in the mobilecommunication terminal; displaying a toggle icon, by the remote controlprogram, on a screen of the mobile communication terminal; andtemporarily stopping transmission of a screen output image of the mobilecommunication terminal to the computer by the remote control programwhile the remote control program normally performs remote controlitself, once a first touch of the toggle icon is sensed.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: resuming transmission of the screenoutput image of the mobile communication terminal to the computer by theremote program, once a second sequential touch of the toggle icon issensed.
 3. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing programinstructions executed by a processor or controller, the computerreadable medium comprising: program instructions that execute a remotecontrol program installed in the a mobile communication terminal;program instructions that display a toggle icon, by the a remote controlprogram, on a screen of the mobile communication terminal; and programinstructions that temporarily stop transmission of a screen output imageof the mobile communication terminal to the a computer by the remotecontrol program while the remote control program normally performsremote control itself, once a first touch of the toggle icon is sensed.4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 3, furthercomprising: program instructions that resume transmission of the screenoutput image of the mobile communication terminal to the computer by theremote program, once a second sequential touch of the toggle icon issensed.
 5. A system comprising: a computer connected to a network; amobile communication terminal connected to the network and configured toexecute a remote control program installed thereon, display a toggleicon, by the remote control program, on a screen of the mobilecommunication terminal, and temporarily stop transmission of a screenoutput image of the mobile communication terminal to the a computer bythe remote control program while the remote control program normallyperforms remote control itself, once a first touch of the toggle icon issensed.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein mobile communication terminalis configure to resume transmission of the screen output image of themobile communication terminal to the computer by the remote program,once a second sequential touch of the toggle icon is sensed.